SALAAT - SECOND PILLAR OF
ISLAM ...
Shaykh Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi
CONGREGATIONAL SERVICE OF
FRIDAY
The congregation service of Friday is distinguished by
certain incentives and other features that have enhanced its
solemnity and splendour and are conducive to the generation of
enthusiasm for prayer and the promotion of the spirit of unity
and co-operation among Muslims for piety and righteousness.
"O ye who believe! When the call is heard for the prayer of
the day of congregation (Friday), hasten unto remembrance of
Allah and leave your trading. That is better for you if ye did
but know." (-lxii:9)
Some of the Traditions of the holy Prophet regarding the
congregation of Friday are as follows:
"He who misses three Friday services (in succession) owing
to heedlessness or indolence, God sets the seal on his heart."
(Abu Dawud, Nasaai, Ibn Majah)
"Let people give up neglect of the Friday prayer otherwise
God will set the seal on their hearts, and then they will
become of those that are negligent." (Muslim and Nasaai)
"Sometimes I feel like telling someone else to lead the
prayers so that I could go and set fire to the dwellings of
those who stay away from the congregation." (Ibid)
For the Friday service a Muslim is required to take a bath,
brush his teeth and use perfume and take the greatest care for
cleanliness. A sermon is also delivered before the
commencement of the service. The sermon the holy Prophet used
to deliver was not of a routine nature but he dwelt on the
current problems and realities of life and made it an
effective medium of guidance and instruction. We learn from
Hazrat Jabir that "when the holy Prophet delivered the sermon
his voice got raised and his eyes became red. It appeared that
he was warning against the enemy, an attack from whom was
imminent (and could take place at any time of the morning or
evening)."
Writes Allama Ibn-i-Qaiyim in Zad-ul-Ma'ad,'
"In his sermon the holy Prophet used to instruct and inform
the Companions about the laws, principles and practices of
Islam and if there was a matter of sanctioning or prohibiting
he would sanction or prohibit (as the case might be)."
Commenting on the conduct of the Imams and preachers of his
day, the Allama remarks:
"Then a long time elapsed, the light of Apostleship faded
from the eyes and rituals took the place of commands and
practices became common which were carried out mechanically
and without regard to their purpose and significance. People
became obsessed with outward forms and ceremonials and thought
only of observing them in an impressive manner. The rituals
were elevated to the status of the Sunnah and lofty ideals and
objectives, in respect of which the least amount of negligence
or variation was forbidden, fell into neglect. They
embellished their sermons with glittering phrases and
far-fetched ideas, but the thought-content declined till the
very object of the sermons was lost." (Zad al-Ma'ad vol.1
pg.115)
The sermons of the venerated Prophet were neither lengthy
nor tiresome as the practice is today. The sermons, nowadays,
are generally used for making a display of one's learning or
stealing a march over others. In them the emphasis is laid
largely on local and superficial issues (over which there is
an unlimited scope for raising a controversy) and open attacks
are made on those who hold a different view. Consequently, the
listeners, instead of deriving solace and satisfaction are
filled with disgust and weariness, and the solemnity and
dignity of the Friday sermon, which is its chief
characteristic, is destroyed. The sermons of the Prophet used
to be realistic and to the point and full of radiance and
vitality. Like his conversation they were precise and
appealing, neither too long nor too short. Jabir bin Samura
tells that "the Salat of the Prophet was moderate, and so was
his sermon. He recited a few verses of the Qur'aan and then he
gave good counsel to the people." (Muslim) Another Tradition
has it that "the holy Prophet did not deliver a long sermon on
Fridays but said only a few words." (Muslim)
The sermon should be heard quietly for full benefit can be
acquired from it only in a peaceful and spiritual atmosphere.
The sermon is an occasion for prayer not eloquence. It is
strictly forbidden to talk to one another during a sermon.
Even stopping those sitting close to one from talking is not
permitted for it, too, is a source of disturbance. A Tradition
says that "he who told his companion in a Friday congregation
to keep quiet also indulged in unnecessary talk." (Abu Dawud)
By its very nature, the Friday congregation should be held
only in one mosque, or in a limited number of mosques in a
town (provided that the town is not so big and extensive that
it may be difficult for its people to assemble in one mosque)
so that the Muslims can collect, once a week, at one place.
This will go a long way in strengthening the bonds of
solidarity and brotherhood among Muslims and, at the sametime,
serve as a safeguard against the pollution and distortion of
their religious beliefs and practices. But the Muslims,
unfortunately, have been prone to be lethargic and neglectful
with the result that the effectiveness and grandeur of the
Friday congregation has suffered a decline.
Criterion of the Week
For the tired and restless man, preoccupied with the needs
and responsibilities of life, it was advisable that a day
should be set apart on which he could re-equip himself
inwardly and cleanse his heart of the impurities that might
have collected therein during the week and acquire a fresh
inspiration for prayer and devotion to the Almighty. He ought
to make use of this day in such a way that its radiance and
auspiciousness permeated through the rest of the days of the
week and they all became a projection of it. Such a day (or
time, if we may say so) is Friday in the week, Shab-i-dadr in
the month of Ramadan and the month of Ramadan in the year.
As Allama Ibn-i-Qaiyim writes, "Friday is the day on which
special and single-minded application to worship is called
for. It enjoys a superiority over the rest of the week in
other respects also. God has allocated a day for each
community on which people can stay away from worldly
activities and devote themselves to worship. Friday is a day
of worship in the same way. Its place and importance in the
week is the same as that of Ramadan in the year. The
particular time of the acceptance of petitions and
supplications that is in it is identical in nature to
Shab-i-Qadr in the month of Ramadan. Thus, a person who spends
the Friday in a befitting manner for him the other days of the
week will also fall in line with it, a person who observes the
month of Ramadan in the right spirit and keeps away from
sinfulness and wrong-doing the rest of the year will turn out
to be the same for him and a person who performs the Hajj
properly his whole life will be spent likewise.
They learn about the doctrines and practices of Islam, the
consciousness of being a Muslim grows in them and they take
pride in it and remain secure against the inroads of
polytheism and idolatory by virtue of it. But for the
congregational service of Friday a large majority of Muslims
would have been swept away by the rising tide of Apostasy and
got absorbed into the un-Islamic societies in which they live.
For this very reason even some of the latter-day jurists of
the Hanafi school have preferred not to adopt an attitude of
narrowness and rigidity over it but be liberal and
accommodating.
Friday is the criterion of the week, Ramadan the criterion
of the year and the Hajj the criterion of life. The good
fortune to act virtuously and well depends, of course, on the
will of God." (Zad-ul-Ma'ad)
The Salat of the Two Eids
The annual festivals and other celebrations, in all nations
and religious communities, have degenerated into occasions for
revelry and self-gratification. Intemperate entertainment,
merrymaking and dissipation have become their main attributes
and this has led to the destruction of their religious
significance and sanctity. They have turned into the exact
opposite of what they were intended to be.
With the two Eids, 'Idul Fitr and Eidul Adha, however, it
is different. These festivals which have been sanctioned for
the Muslims by the Divine Law-Giver for their emotional
satisfaction and in recognition of a fundamental human need
are cast altogether in a religious and spiritual mould. For
instance, extra Takbirs are prescribed for the prayer-services
of the 'Ids and in the end a sermon is delivered. It is also
preferable, though not necessary, to raise Takbir repeatedly
while going to celebrate the Eid services. Alms-giving (known
as Sadqa-i-Fitr) before the prayers of 'Idul Fitr and
sacrifice of animals after the prayers of Eidul Adha are an
additional feature.
The underlying purpose of the Eid prayers was that just as
the Muslims met, once in a week, for the Friday congregational
service they should also get together twice in a year in a
wide, open maidan but as with the Friday service, about these,
too, they fell a prey to indifference and lassitude and the
Eid prayers began to be celebrated in all the mosques, big as
well as small. Consequently, the Eid services also were
deprived of their efficacy and many of the objects the Shariat
had in view were lost. Writes Allama Ibn-i-Qaiyim:
"The Prophet used to offer the prayers of Eid in the
Musallah which is situated at the eastern gate of Medina. This
is the place where the pilgrims used to dismount from their
camels. He offered the Salaat of Eid in his own mosque only
once when it was raining (if the authenticity of the Tradition
mentioned in Abu Dawud and Ibn-i-Majah is not questioned). The
normal practice, in any case, was that the Prophet offered up
the 'Id prayers in the Musalla." (Zad-ul-Ma'ad vol.1 pg.119)
Hazrat Shah Waliullah has the following remarks to offer on
the special significance of the two 'Ids:
"For every community a congregation is needed in which all
its members can take part for the display of their strength
and solidarity. Hence, for the 'Ids it has been made
commendable for all Muslims, even women and children, to come
and join the congregation. The women and children are advised
to participate in it from a place set apart for them outside
the Musalla.
The holy Prophet, further, used to adopt one route for
going to the Musalla and another for returning from there so
that the spectacle of the glory of Islam could be seen by
people living along both the routes." (Hujjat vol.ii pg.23)
Safeguard against Confusion, Innovation and
Misrepresentation
Friday and the congregational prayer service have played a
notable part in the security and preservation of faith, in the
maintenance of the stability of the foundations of the Shariat
and in the survival of the religious environment bequeathed by
the sacred Prophet to his illustrious Companions. Thanks to
them, Islam has remained protected against pollution,
distortion and misrepresentation and succeeded in avoiding the
fate of being reduced to a child's play. Had the Muslims given
up these two things – Friday and the congregational service –
and started offering up their prayers at home, it would have
become impossible to recognize their Salaat today; or at
least, it would have lost much of its original form and
character and all sorts of variations would have been
introduced in it. Various types of Salaat would have now been
in vogue among the Muslims and just as their social and
cultural life presents a different picture from place to place
their prayers, too, would have accepted innumerable local
influences and like the followers of Judaism and Christianity
and of the polytheistic faiths of India they too would have
been celebrating their Salaat in a different manner in
different towns and countries. Congregational service,
therefore, is a most important means to the promotion and
safeguarding of uniformity and strict observance of rules in
worship.
On account of these and many other considerations, which
are known only to God, a prayer offered in congregation is
held to be much superior to the one offered individually.
Hadhrat Abu Hurayra (Radhiallaahu Anhu) related from the
prophet that, "The Salaat celebrated congregationally is
twenty five times more valuable than the one celebrated at
home or in the shop for when a Muslim performs the ablution
for it, and performs it well, and goes to the mosque solely
with the object of saying his prayer, his status is raised by
one degree and a sin is forgiven at each step. When he begins
the prayer, the angels send salutations and blessings of the
Lord upon him as long as he remains on the prayer-mat and say,
‘O Lord! Bestow Thy Peace and Blessings upon him and treat him
with Mercy.' Moreover, the time a devotee spends in waiting
for the service to begin is deemed to have been spent in the
service itself." (Sihah Sittah with exception of Nasaai). It
is related by Hadhrat ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Anhu) that the
Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) once said, ‘A
Salaat offered up in congregation is twenty seven times
superior to that offered individually.' (Muatta, Bukhari,
Tirmidhi, Nasaai)
Last modified:
July 19, 2007
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